Chapter 94: Burden of Knowledge

‘I… hate you.’

Cali stared into the eyes of the man she’d walked over to comfort.

‘I hate you! I hate you! Why! Why…’

Why did Zayn have to tell her?!

‘Crude joke?! Watching over you?! Bullshit!’

He’d known her name. She was a late addition who had taken someone else’s spot and hadn’t introduced herself. Not to mention, she was quiet and kept to herself. Only those in her guild, Hope, knew her name.

But that was not the only damning truth tearing through Cali’s mind.

‘S-status.’

???

Cali Bracknell

Age: 24 | Gender: Female

Contractor: [ – – – ]

[Aether Core]

[Rank: Nascent] – (Progression: 4.68%)

[Tasks]

[Defend the Town of Adsagsona From the Monster Invasion] – (Progression: 73%)

[Skills]

[Fall of Babel]

[Relics]

[Afflictions]

[???] – (Progression: 0.01%)

???

Cali’s fist clenched.

‘So that’s… what that meant.’

She was unaware of the full extent of what Zayn had told her, but she was painfully aware that it was true.

She…

She needed to die for the world.

Cali wasn’t going to lie to herself and cling to a life destined to ruin others out of selfishness. As she had said…

She would never be able to kill another, but neither would she stop someone else from killing for the greater good. Especially if that good was saving the world.

‘But… why?’

Why burden her with the knowledge that she was destined to die?

Well, all people died someday…

But she was destined to be murdered.

And, if not murdered, then somehow become the world’s destroyer.

Her Affliction, Zayn knowing her name… the compounding factors left her life balanced between two terrible conclusions.

Worst of all…

‘Why couldn’t he wait?’

If he truly needed to get that off his chest, to explain his murder plot to his own victim, why do it right after such a horrid experience? While they were still surrounded by their comrade’s blood?

All while not killing her…

That would be the logical step after such a confession, yet Zayn was still there, looking off toward the sky, showing no intent to attack her.

A few more tears slipped from her eyes as she stared at the damnable heroic villain.

‘Why try to fool me?’

And why…

Why was Cali letting it happen?

Why was she going along with it?

Well…

She knew why.

Her heart was too tender, too soft, to deny the pitiful man next to her the solace he so desperately sought. That look in his eyes was one of utter defeat. It didn’t excuse what he’d claimed to have done, but it did show his aversion to it.

And that… that was enough for Cali to entrust the world’s future to him.

It was clear why he wanted her to join Camelot.

To keep her close. To kill her at an opportune moment.

Yet, she’d agreed.

She’d agreed to abandon Hope.

***

Zayn felt a bit of blood trickling down the back of his head.

‘How hard did I hit my head for all of that to spill out?’

Not his blood, but…

The unfiltered truth.

At least, almost entirely unfiltered.

He’d left out the details of the executions and some of the specifics, but he’d admitted to what had happened overall. Especially now that she was going to join Camelot, it wouldn’t take long for her to hear about Zayn’s trial and the missing Claire.

Meaning Cali would undoubtedly be able to put it together. The missing Claire had been one of his victims.

‘Still…’

‘Why don’t I regret it?’

Why did he feel… better?

Not good, but better.

He couldn’t walk around flashing smiles everywhere, but a part of his heart had indeed calmed.

‘Damn… I’m such a coward.’

Over and over, he’d looked for a reason why he had to complete his task. He had mulled over the dilemma in his head and weighed possibility against probability countless times. But now that he knew completing the task was necessary, he’d finally found it in himself to confess.

He knew why he had done it, at least…

He’d rather be forced into the role. If he was already labeled a villain meant to be killed, then maybe it would be much easier to kill in retaliation.

Sure, it would make the task many times harder, but it would make living with himself easier.

On the other hand, there were the primary Tasks.

It was clear now, looking around at the carnage, that without Zayn’s involvement, everyone here would have died.

No, worse…

They might not have come here at all.

He didn’t exactly know what killing the specters truly did, but the progression of the Main Task had shot up after they were killed and was now increasing at nearly quadruple the speed it had been.

Who knew how many would have died without him?

Zayn felt like it was his responsibility to keep moving forward with them…

After all, he’d taken Axel from them.

From the few memories he had of his past life, Axel seemed to be the cornerstone of their hope. The hero everyone had staked their lives on. With him gone, Zayn had to work overtime to fill the void he left behind.

Something much easier to do if he wasn’t on the run.

Oddly, Cali made very few moves to distance herself. She only sat there, crying. It didn’t seem like she had any intention of turning him in.

She’d probably believed him. Worse… she had probably concluded that she was a Disaster.

‘But, seriously… why are the Disasters all so kind?’

Was being good truly a sin?

There was that saying, ‘bad things happen to good people.’

His parents, Alina, Axel, Cynthia, Hae-ryung, Cali…

‘I don’t think I’ve ever agreed more with a saying.’

Zayn closed his eyes for a moment.

‘As the destined last survivor and someone who doomed many people Axel would have saved… I at least owe them remembrance.’

Not just the Disasters, but everyone who died.

It was a harsh and odd creed to uphold, but he’d try nonetheless. He’d try to remember the names of all those who died, whether because of him directly, through his machinations, or as a result of him taking away a protector who might have saved them.

Sadly, of those who died here… he knew only a few names. Plus, he didn’t even know everyone who had died.

Some might still be alive.

A few had managed to flee the specters’ rampage in time.

Finally, after a long silence, Zayn slowly picked himself up off the ground.

“We… should gather the survivors and head back towards town.”

Cali answered solemnly.

“Yeah…”

Zayn and Cali split off, trudging through the mounds of limbs and blood, peering into every crater left behind in the vain hope that some survivor might still be buried beneath the carnage.

As for Zayn’s first stop… he turned and shuffled toward the epicenter of the explosion.

He expected to find Jarlock and Nathan blown to bloody bits; however…

“Paul…?”

On his way, he stumbled across quite the miracle.

The burly man lay at the bottom of a crater, weakly shifting his head from side to side. His face was covered in blood and riddled with gashes, but he was alive.

Blinking weakly, Paul muttered:

“Ah… Zayn?”

“How are you—?”

The man propped himself up slightly.

“Alive? I’m not really sure. The bitch must have misfired another boulder or something… because a second… crashed into the first. That took most of the blow.”

Zayn stared in awe for a few seconds before asking:

“Do you think you’ll be able to make it back to Adsagsona?”

“Hah… I’ll be alright, kid.”

Zayn nodded, then continued his march through death. Then, he reached where the witches had been buried.

“You’ve got to be shitting me…”

Before him lay Jarlock and Nathan, bearing only a few more scrapes than when he’d last seen them. Their chests were rising and falling steadily. Neither seemed seriously injured. They’d only been knocked unconscious from the Aether overload.

‘Wait…’

Zayn looked back toward Elijah and Cali on the far end of the visible graveyard. Farther from the explosion, those who had fled in that direction were already back on their feet.

There he saw Jordan and Caldon. They looked a little worse for wear, but neither bore any grave injuries. The two people whose names he didn’t know were also fine.

In fact, including himself, it seemed like all ten of them who had taken part in the final charge would live.

But not even a trace of relief came with the realization.

‘No…’

Everyone was alive.

Zayn bit his lip.

And yet…

Yet he’d drawn the black joker.

[Disaster: Cynthia Vespertine – Dead]

(Memory fragment recovered: 2/12)

“What…?!”